March 14
1800s *1883 - In a Northwestern League meeting, Peoria moves to ban blacks in order to prevent Toledo from playing star catcher Moses Fleetwood Walker. After an "exciting discussion" the motion is withdrawn and Walker is allowed to play. *1894 - U.S. Immigration Inspector De Barry will ask the Treasury Department if baseball is a "recognized profession" in order to determine if Buffalo has violated the alien contract labor law by signing two Canadian players. Before De Barry gets a reply, Buffalo decides to play only U.S. Americans. 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s *1932 - The Cincinnati Reds acquire catcher Ernie Lombardi, outfielder Babe Herman, and infielder Wally Gilbert from the Brooklyn Dodgers for catcher Clyde Sukeforth and infielders Tony Cuccinello and Joe Stripp. Herman bats .324 in one season in Cincinnati following the trade (he will later return to the club for two seasons), but Lombardi makes the trade a steal. Lombardi bats .311 in 10 seasons in Cincinnati, winning a batting title and MVP Award in 1938. 1940s 1950s *1953 - St. Louis mayor Joseph Darst vows to fight losing the hometown Browns to Baltimore. *1954 - Hank Aaron makes his first spring training start for the Milwaukee Braves in an exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox. Aaron, taking advantage of an injury suffered by starting outfielder Bobby Thomson, raps out three hits, including a home run. The noise of the contact is so loud that Ted Williams runs out of the Boston clubhouse to see who can make that sound with a bat. Aaron will eventually start for the Braves on Opening Day and will go on to hit a respectable .280 with 13 home runs and 58 RBI in his rookie season. *1956 - 50-year-old pitching star Satchel Paige signs a contract to play for the Birmingham Barons of the Negro National League. Paige also agrees to manage the team in 1956. 1960s *1960 - Kirby Puckett is born in Chicago, Illinois. Puckett will make his major league debut in 1984, when he hits .296 for the Minnesota Twins. Over a 12-year career, Puckett will bat .318 with 207 home runs and 1,085 RBI, helping the Twins to two World Championships. He will win election to the Hall of Fame in 2001. *1961 - The National League expansion franchise in New York names future Hall of Famer George Weiss as team president. Weiss had retired as general manager of the Yankees in 1960. *1969 - Former major leaguer Henry (Heinie) Zimmerman dies in New York, NY at the age of 82. The onetime Triple Crown winner was banned from baseball in 1919 for his alleged involvement in fixing games. 1970s 1980s 1990s *1991 - The California Angels obtain designated hitter Dave Parker from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for outfielder Dante Bichette. At the end of the season, Parker will finish his 19-year ML career with the Toronto Blue Jays. *1993 - The Cincinnati Reds announce that Schottzie 02, the St. Bernard owned by Reds president Marge Schott, is being banned from the field at Riverfront Stadium for the season. *1995 - The MLB Players Association announces that it will not settle the strike action if replacement players are used in regular season games, and if results are not voided. 2000s *2003: **Milwaukee Brewers TV/Radio play-by-play announcer Bob Uecker is chosen for induction into the broadcasters' wing of the Hall of Fame as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award. The 68-year-old former back-up catcher, who joined the Milwaukee broadcast crew in 1971, is best known for the humor he has brought to the game through his starring role in the cult movie ''Major League'' and the beer commercial in which the phrase Must be in the front row! has become a familiar cry in ballparks around the country. **Dependent on passing a physical, free agent Kenny Lofton agrees to a one-year pact to play with the Pittsburgh Pirates this season. Lofton would most likely start in center field moving Brian Giles to left field with LF Reggie Sanders going to right. **Able to maintain the organization's "long standing philosophy", which lets Cablevision customers choose whether or not to receive paid programming, the cable giant agrees one-year interim deal to offer YES Network to New York Yankees fans for a fee ending a bitter and costly yearlong feud. The arrangement makes YES a premium channel instead of basic cable channel which the new network had previously mandated and would have made every subscriber pay for the channel regardless of the viewer's choice. *2006 - Two games were played today in Round Two of the inaugural World Baseball Classic: **'Pool One:' ***At Angel Stadium, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed one hit in five shutout innings, and Japan beat Mexico, 6–1, to put the United States in danger of being eliminated before its next game. If Japan beats South Korea, the US team could be eliminated from contention even before playing Mexico. **'Pool Two:' ***Daniel Cabrera pitched four hitless innings with seven strikeouts, and the Dominican Republic one-hit Venezuela to advance to the semifinals with a 2–1 victory at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. **The Washington Nationals can keep their nickname. Major League Baseball has settled a lawsuit with a company that said it owned the trademark rights to the name Washington Nationals. It also was announced that designs for a 41,000-seat ballpark for Washington were unveiled by District of Columbia officials, a glass-and-steel structure clad in pale stone chosen to complement the world famous skyline of the nation's capital. **Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona agreed to a two-year contract extension that runs through the 2008 season. Births *1869 - Billy Rhines, pitcher (d. 1922) *1900 - Marty McManus, infielder (b. 1900) *1905 - Jack Rothrock, outfielder (d. 1980) *1921 - Bill Kennedy, pitcher (d. 1983) *1956 - Butch Wynegar, All-Star catcher *1957 - Steve Lake, catcher *1960 - Jerry Willard, catcher *1961 - Kirby Puckett, Hall of Fame outfielder (d. 2006) *1963 - Mike Rochford, pitcher *1965 - Kevin Brown, All-Star pitcher *1981 - Bobby Jenks, pitcher Deaths *1966 - Lee Magee, OF/IF (b. 1889) *1969 - Heinie Zimmerman, infielder (b. 1887) *1974 - Alex Pompez, Hall of Fame Negro League executive (b. 1890) *2003 - Al Gionfriddo, outfielder (b. 1922)